University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

On human rights: International institutions, domestic factors and incentivizing changes

Wang, Navida Chun-Han

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115891

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Title
On human rights: International institutions, domestic factors and incentivizing changes
Author(s)
Wang, Navida Chun-Han
Issue Date
2022-07-08
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
  • Prorok, Alyssa
  • Vasquez, John
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
  • Prorok, Alyssa
  • Vasquez, John
Committee Member(s)
  • Dai, Xinyuan
  • Gaines , Brian
Department of Study
Political Science
Discipline
Political Science
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • International Relations
  • International Organizations
  • Human Rights
Abstract
The fundamental issue with the international human rights regime is that there is no strong mechanism for enforcement. At the same time, external pressure from the international community has not always produced progress and states can fend off external pressure rather than engaging in behavioral changes. My research is grounded in an understanding of domestic politics where I place emphasis on how the political environment shapes a leader’s calculus and state behavior. In three studies, I explore three different domestic mechanisms—the power of veto players, government accountability, and autocratic leader-elite relations—and theorize how each mechanism affects a state’s human rights practices. I also investigate how various domestic mechanisms interact with the United Nations Human Rights Council and National Human Rights Institutions, using empirical strategies, including matching and instrumental variables design, to address issues of endogeneity. This dissertation underscores the role of domestic politics as an essential component to pressure states for human rights policy reforms and as a determinant in the likelihood that human rights advocacy will be successful in bringing about better human rights conditions. My research enriches our understanding of the conditional effect of human rights institutions and the dynamics of repression, sheds light on the global trends in human rights, and has implications for human rights institutions and advocacy.
Graduation Semester
2022-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2022 Navida Chun-Han Wang

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